With a little more than six weeks to go until Election Day, GOOD Morning Wilton expects an uptick in campaign rhetoric, activity and communication on all fronts. We thought it would be a good idea to remind readers, campaigns and candidates about our Election coverage guidelines and policies.
We published our Election Coverage Guidelines on Aug. 28, and frequently link to them in any election-related articles that we publish. They link to our Terms of Use, which reflect our approach not only to covering the campaign as but also to publishing in general.
Recently, we’ve noticed a certain negativity starting to creep into the 2018 election season–on social media, in campaign appearances, in fundraising and outreach.
GOOD Morning Wilton contacted all the local candidates over the weekend to remind them about our guidelines and reiterate the tone with which GMW approaches election coverage. We wrote to encourage all the campaigns to focus on issues with a tenor that promotes positive community engagement. We understand the nature of campaigns and politics, and the reality that it doesn’t always go that way.
However, GMW will not participate in furthering any negative practices, either by coverage or publication. We really want to keep the focus where it matters–the issues, events and people of Connecticut and especially Wilton.
Similarly, we hope all our readers will follow the same approach, whether it’s in the way you engage with GMW in comments or letters to the editor, or when interacting with the campaigns and fellow residents.
This article isn’t a response to one particular incident or individual–we just thought it would be a good idea to re-establish GMW’s approach.
We welcome any questions and communication from you, and look forward to continuing to bring you all the resources you need to get involved with the election, understand the issues, and most importantly, cast your vote on Tuesday, Nov. 6.